title: Mothers of autistic children: lower plasma levels of oxytocin and Arg-vasopressin and a higher level of testosterone.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Autism is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder,thought to be caused by a combination of genetic heritability and environmental risk factors. Some autistic-like traits have been reported in mothers of autistic children. We hypothesized that dysregulation of oxytocin (OXT), Arg-vasopressin (AVP) and sex hormones, found in autistic children, may also exist in their mothers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We determined plasma levels of OXT (40 in autism vs. 26 in control group), AVP (40 vs. 17) and sex hormones (61 vs. 47) in mothers of autistic and normal children by enzyme immunoassay and radioimmunoassay, respectively and investigated their relationships with the children's autistic behavior scores (Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly lower plasma concentrations of OXT (p<0.001) and AVP (p<0.001), as well as a higher level of plasma testosterone (p<0.05), were found in mothers of autistic children vs. those of control. The children's autistic behavior scores were negatively associated with maternal plasma levels of OXT and AVP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that dysregulation of OXT, AVP and/or testosterone systems exist in mothers of autistic children, which may impact children's susceptibility to autism.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute & Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China ; Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education/National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Jie
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiao-Jing
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Shou
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mei-Xiang
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Ji-Shui
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Qing-Yun
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xiu-Ting
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Song-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ji-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000097:blood*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D001519:Behavior; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D009035:Mothers; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000097:blood*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D010121:Oxytocin